LFP committed to sustainability

LFP committed to sustainability

From Thursday 26 January and until the end of the 2022-2023 season, the Ligue de Football Professionnel and clubs Ligue 1 Uber Eats and Ligue 2 BKT are committed to promoting sustainable mobility through a nationwide communication campaign.

The concept is to invite spectators to promote sustainable mobility – public transport, carpooling, active mobility – through slogans and puns that combine football and mobility solutions.

Two common messages follow each hook: the campaign slogan “We share more than football” and an explanatory message “To get to the stadium, use public transport, carpooling and sustainable mobility. “.

These hooks will be refused according to the intended means of transport, but also according to the codes of each club’s history. Each club will thus have the chance to speak directly to its supporters and highlight the transport solutions introduced to get to their stadium, for a problem where every gesture counts, especially in terms of transport.

The Professional Football League and the Ligue 1 Uber Eats and Ligue 2 BKT clubs have been committed to a CSR approach for several years and are committed to implementing a process to reduce the environmental impact of their activities. Therefore, as part of the energy efficiency plan announced by the government on 6 October 2022, the LFP has committed to implementing energy-saving measures for the organisation of its matches: limiting the temperature of heating and air conditioning in enclosed areas , reducing light therapy and underfloor heating of lawns and, in particular, reducing pre-match and post-match lighting.

This campaign is part of this approach by addressing a key factor in greenhouse gas emissions, represented by spectator movement. According to a study commissioned by the LFP and conducted by an independent company in the 2018-2019 season, 87% of CO2 emissions from travel to a football match are linked to spectator travel.

It will be accompanied by other measures encouraging clubs to reduce their carbon footprint, as new CSR criteria will be integrated into the club licence for the 2023-2024 season, including notably:

• Realisation of an energy balance;
• Reduction of electricity consumption by 10% compared to the previous season;
• Encouragement to give preference to sustainable transport for players’ travel when journeys are feasible in less than 5 hours, depending on safety constraints and difficulty of travel;
• Signing the Ministry of Sports’ Charter of 15 environmentally responsible commitments;
• Stadium equipment with LED lighting;
• Presence of secure bicycle parking;
• These criteria are in addition to those already present at the License Club this season: conducting a carbon balance and defining a low-carbon strategy, use of reusable and neutral cups, elimination of plastic bottles, reduction and recovery of waste, rainwater harvesting .

The 2023-2024 Club Licence also marks the introduction of new CSR criteria in the area of social initiatives with, in particular:

• Setting up workshops to combat discrimination (racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia).
• Setting up a dialogue between the club and supporters with disabilities and accessibility of online ticketing for people with disabilities.

At a time when the LFP and the clubs have embarked on strategic reforms with their new partner CVC Capital Partners to transform the model of French professional football and place it on the European stage, these new initiatives testify to the desire for an ecologically friendly league – leading manager on energy efficiency and climate change issues.